The South Australian branch of the LIA awarded Chloe Rudd from Print DNA its graduate of the year for 2017.
Gordon Wilson, state president, SA LIA says, “The standard of this year’s nominees was exceptionally high, with the judges commenting on how difficult the final decision had been. It took us an unprecedented two or so hours to reach our final decision. Our industry should be incredibly proud of the calibre of apprentices we are attracting and producing.”
Mary-Jo Fisher, director of government relations at the PIAA was also a judge saying, “Merit matters. It is the beginning and the end. So it was fabulous for us in SA to interview more young women than men. Equally fabulous is the fact that two thirds of SA’s 2017 candidates work in regional SA.”
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Ian Andrews, managing director of Print DNA says, “It is a pleasure having Chloe as an apprentice. She has always been willing to do whatever is needed to meet the client’s needs and our expectations. My wife and I wish I could find more like her.”
Fisher says, “With SA’s finalists being 2016’s Jason Turai and 2017’s Chloe Rudd, other states had better be good. Watch out – South Australia is here, front and centre.
Fisher says the 2017 awards were even more poignant because Chloe’s fellow-contestant, Taylor O’Brien’s country SA boss, Rob Hansen (Hansen Design and Print) was himself 1974’s SA LIA Graduate of the Year. ‘’Modest as Hansen is, clearly these awards are a big deal and an indicator for a really successful future.”
Fisher adds, ‘’The SA competition proved that family businesses are here to stay and prosper. Youthful as she is, regional Reid Print’s contestant Tess Edmonson has already suggested to her Dad that he needs to figure out how to give over the reins, pretty soon.
“Good managers encourage those in their team who want the boss’s job. Country Barossa’s CCL Clear Image has done just that, supporting candidate Jack Greatorex to enunciate his managerial path and detail the courses and learnings he wants to pursue to get there.’’
With two national scholarships up for grabs in Brisbane in November, SA’s 2016 winner Jason Turai and 2017’s Chloe Rudd will compete for the biennial national Visual Connections-LIA National Scholarship Prize ($15,000) and LIA-Printing Industries Futures Leaders Award (all-expenses- paid trip to Drupa or IPEX).
The event was sponsored by Heidelberg nationally and it was jointly hosted by Fuji Xerox and Printing Industries.
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